Burlington Deputy Police Chief Andi Higbee, seen here in August following his arraignment on drunken driving charges, will return to work within a week. / FREE PRESS FILE

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Free Press Staff Writer

Burlington Deputy Police Chief Andi Higbee, who was placed on paid leave after his off-duty arrest on charges of drunken driving, is set to return to work within a week.

An internal investigation into Higbee’s conduct has been partially resolved, Police Chief Mike Schirling said Wednesday afternoon. The city Police Commission was briefed on the situation Tuesday night.

Schirling said the portion of the investigation dealing with the DUI arrest will remain open until the criminal case in Vermont Superior Court in St. Albans is resolved.

The portion that has been resolved, Schirling said, provides Higbee with a four-day suspension without pay for allowing two passengers to ride in his car with open beer containers several hours before he was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving at about 12:05 a.m. July 21.

Back on the job, Higbee, 44, will be restricted to special projects, including crime analysis, training and recruiting in support of departmental operations, the chief told the Burlington Free Press.

“Andi will have no law-enforcement duties or supervisory duties,” Schirling said.

He said Higbee is not expected to resume his duties as the primary spokesman for the department.

“Based on the information available in the records relating to the ongoing case, coupled with information obtained by the internal investigator, it is not yet clear whether a violation of the law has occurred regarding the DUI allegation,” Schirling said.

“Therefore a finding regarding a department rule violation on that matter is not yet possible and, absent other information coming to light, must await the initial outcome of the pending court case,” he said.

News of Higbee’s return to work was first reported by the Burlington Free Press online Wednesday afternoon.

Higbee, who has been volunteering at the Humane Society of Chittenden County, told the Free Press on Wednesday afternoon he would leave comments to others, including his defense lawyer, Brooks McArthur, and Chief Schirling.

“We are happy Andi can get back to his job and continue serving the people of Burlington,” said McArthur, who along with David Williams is defending the 22-year police veteran.

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Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan said he is looking forward to Higbee’s return.

“I personally believe that Andi is a good person, and I have enjoyed working with him in the past and will enjoy working with him in the future, if possible,” Donovan said.

Schirling said that while details regarding an internal investigation normally are a confidential personnel matter, Higbee authorized the release of the latest action.

Schirling said it made no sense for taxpayers to keep paying Higbee to stay home, when his expertise could be used to help him and the city’s other deputy chief, Bruce Bovat.

“There are plenty of things that Andi can be doing to help Bruce and me,” Schirling said.

The chief said among the issues he considered in making the decision is that the next hearing in Higbee’s court case is a month away, Oct. 29. He said leaving Higbee on extended paid leave does not serve the fiduciary or operational interests of the police department, the city or the public.

The move to restricted duty is similar to the action taken in April 2011 by Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn shortly after being sworn in. Flynn ordered two suspended longtime employees of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program to return to work temporarily with limited duties. Flynn maintained there was no reason for state taxpayers to continue to pay about $130,000 in combined salaries to two people to stay at home for almost one year while their cases were resolved.

The investigation

Chief Schirling said the central focus of the internal investigation is a requirement that all city police officers adhere to department rules and directives. Police also are expected to also follow all laws applicable to the general public.

While the DUI is pending, the internal report noted that two friends were in Higbee’s car with open beer containers long before the traffic stop by state police, the chief said. Vermont law prohibits having an open alcohol container inside a car.

The Burlington Police Commission received a briefing Tuesday night about the investigation conducted by James Cronan, a retired Vermont State Police detective captain. The commission also learned about the proposed course of action and the recommendation to shift Higbee from paid administrative leave to administrative duty assignment, Schirling said. He said the commission had no objections.

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Higbee pleaded not guilty Aug. 12 to a charge of driving while intoxicated, second offense.

The traffic stop by State Trooper Luke Hall was criticized after the release of the dashboard video of the stop and subsequent roadside processing as part of “Operation Sober Summer.”

Hall maintains Higbee was stopped for failure to use a turn signal on his 48-year-old Ford Galaxie. Defense lawyer McArthur has argued the trooper was a quarter mile away and around a curve with no chance to see Higbee turn from Casino Road onto Vermont 105 in Sheldon during the early morning hours of July 21.

During the arraignment, McArthur told the judge that he had learned there were some state police memos that indicated troopers were expected to average either 1.75 or two traffic stops per hour on the Saturday night Higbee was pulled over.

Hall’s report indicated a blood alcohol level of 0.077 percent for Higbee's first breath test about an hour after the traffic stop, defense lawyer McArthur said. He said the second test three minutes later showed a level of 0.083 percent. The legal limit for adult drivers in Vermont is 0.08 percent.

At the arraignment in August, about a half dozen off-duty Burlington police officers sat in the courtroom in support of Higbee.

Attempts to reach Franklin County State’s Attorney James Hughes or his deputy, Heather Brochu, who is handling the DUI case, were unsuccessful Wednesday afternoon.